MIKE WRITES
A reader of LOST TIDBITS emailed me with this analysis that I thought would be good to share.
**
I had high expectations to this episode since it was Richard’s first and probably only centric-episode and I’m pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed. It was also nice not to see any flash-sideways story lines during this episode since they have been kind of boring and in the end they will probably be a) a “What If?” storyline/alternate universe that shows what happens to these people if they didn’t crash or b) the true ending of the series if all the flash-sideways parts are put together.
Hopefully the writers/producers throw us a screwball and go in a completely different direction to throw everyone off. Anyway, that’s 7 weeks away and there will be plenty of discussion on that later. On to “Ab Aeterno”.
Likes:
This was probably one of the best episodes this season. I won’t say it’s the best one in the series and I’m holding off of putting it in my top 5 or 10 of all time (yet) but this episode did answer a lot of questions for us which makes it very important (though the answers may be very minor and some of them were assumed already but after tonight they are officially answered). Some of the questions that were answered:
“How was the statue damage?”
“How did the Black Rock end up in the middle of the island?”
“What was the history of the Black Rock?”
“Who is Richard and what’s his deal exactly (aging, purpose, etc)?”
I could probably nit-pick and find more but Richard has a long past with the island and his story hasn’t been told until now so any sort of information about his past is bound to answer some questions.
Though it wasn’t a direct answer, we did get a lot more information about the island and also the battle between Jacob and MIB here. It is explained that the island is between our world and hell/an evil universe/purgatory/etc and that Jacob and the MIB intentions are to prove each other wrong that humans can be corrupted because it is in their nature. Yes, this has been discussed on message boards and it’s what we have been assuming for awhile but now it’s said on the show so it can be official (this is just like if Flocke was the black smoke monster situation that started last year). Jacob’s metaphor of the bottle of wine was another good and important scene. We will probably get more of an explanation of the island and Jacob/MIB but so far this episode has told us the most.
Though he has been on the fence for me over the last couple of seasons, I think Richard has joined the ranks of my favorite Lost characters. Locke, Daniel Faraday, Desmond, and Mr Ecko will greet you sir.
Dislikes:
I was hoping that Richard was even older and from the Egyptian times of the island. Though over the last couple of seasons there have been hints of him tied to the Black Rock thus squashing my hopes. I just want to see an Egyptian episode sometime!
Overall:
The acting, camera work, and story of this episode were great and it all fit nicely together. Also, bravo to Nestor Carbonell who knocked it out of the park this week. Hopefully the writers/producers can keep the momentum of this episode and the rest of the season will be just as great. Next week is a Jin/Sun centric-episode and they haven’t had a good one in a long time so here’s hoping they can end their last one on a high note.
Speaking of centric episodes, there’s 8 more episodes left (I’m counting the series finale as 1) so who do we all have left to cover.
(Minor Spoilers below):
Official:
Sun and Jin (next week)
Hurley (2 weeks away. Come on, his name is in the title.)
Probable:
Desmond (if we ever see him again. I’m kind of mad they are limiting his character this season. Maybe it’s because of the lawsuit last year.)
MIB (Jacob got one last year, so it’s only fitting that MIB gets one and I would almost put money on it that it will be the final episode.)
Frank (Maybe, it’s a long shot. Do we really need to know anything about his back story?)
Claire (They will need to explain why she walked off in the night and her being alone for 3 years)Ilana (Probably but I don’t really care about the character and her back story)
Grade: A-
MY RESPONSE
I think I've found my ghostwriter when we travel in a few weeks! Ok, down to business...
NO SIDEWAYS
If we take the name of the episode, then the events shown to us could all be pre-Earth. That's right, pre-Creation. I'm beginning to wonder that instead of looking for an end game on LOST, that we should consider all this as the pre-game!
The concept is that all the homage paid to the multiple religions and cultures and people is simply a way of saying that many people were given the chance that Adam was given...and all failed. Or something along those lines.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Yes, we did get answers. Consider this however: what if the answers we already presumed correctly were merely the writers giving us what we predescribed on message boards and blogs? In other words, this answers don't matter!
For example, the LOST community had pretty much guessed Richard was a passenger aboard the Black Rock ship. So, the writers confirmed it.
So I am focusing more on the surprise answers that are mandatory to finishing this story.
HISTORY OF THE BLACK ROCK
Since you brought it up...did you know that the owner of the ship was Magnus Hanso? That's a relative of Alvar Hanso - the guy who financed the Dharma Initiative as first told to us in the Swan Hatch Orientation film.
I do not know if Magnus was the ship's captain but in this episode we hear someone call out, "The captain is dead" when Smokey attacked them.
The ship's first mate - whoever that might be! - kept a log and this was somehow taken off the island and winds up in an auction house some 150 years later. It is at the auction that Charles Widmore buys the first mate's log book. I'm guessing this helped him find his way back via submarine.
This name dropping is to show us that the writers had this whole plot planned out well in advance. It also tells me that the Hanso's and Widmore's are connected. So now is a good time to remind everyone that another partner in this trinity (HA) is Mr. Paik - Sun's daddy!
WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
Charlie first asked this question and this week's episode provided some clues.
In Fundamentalist circles there is a pre-Heaven and a pre-Hell. I like to think of them as holding cells, but that probably is from my ornery side. They are officially called "Hades" and "Abraham's Bosom". When the Messiah returns a second time, the souls are moved from here to their final places: Hell and Heaven.
Catholics have a single holding cell called Purgatory (which is an acronym for Gary Troup, author of LOST-linked book, "Bad Twin"). Everyone goes here to pay penance as the old priest mentioned to Richard in his jail cell.
If my guess about these events being pre-time (Latin: Ab Aeterno), then we are actually talking about a pre-Heaven. I'm not sure we are ever given an official name for this place in the Bible but it is where the angels existed with God including one angel named Lucifer.
Earlier I have been suggesting the LOST story is moving towards End Times like in Revelation. But now I'm more convinced this is Pre Time and the angel, Lucifer, leaves Paradise and takes 1/3rd of the angels with him.
SPOILERS
TIDBITS normally doesn't do spoilers, but these are well publicized and not very revealing, so I included them. But now these comments:
Desmond - did you know that his name is listed in the credits of every episode so far in Season 6 and yet we saw him only briefly on the plane? I'll bet you a boot at the Hessen Haus that Desmond is who is locked behind that door on the sub. Father-in-laws can be such a pain!
While thinking about Desmond...remember Mrs. Hawking said that if Desmond didn't keep pushing that button the world would end and "God helps us all"? She was right. Desmond was keeping the cork in the bottle, just like the Dharma Group was doing before him.
Ilana - I feel that she is more important than you are giving her credit for. For example, how did she get her faced messed up? It seemed she was in some Third World hospital and how about her being someone different when those wraps come off!?! Her relationship with Jacob doesn't appear to be as old as Richard, but there have been mentions about "mothers" and "fathers" where these two are concerned.
**
Well, thanks for writing and I hope I gave you something to think about in response.
NEXT ON TIDBITS
Be checking back for more TIDBITS this week when we can discuss things like:
- In Sawyer's episode all the clocks seen in every scene were set to the same time!
- While the sideways flash appears to be parallel, I can prove they are not 2007-08!
- Aaron is not a good son!
- The MIB and Jacob are not the Devil and Christ!
- Why the Survivors are not dead as Richard claims!
If you enjoyed this post, let me know by clicking one of the ads. It let's me know you are reading, you like it, and I get compensated a few pennies for the effort. A win-win for everyone - unlike on the Island of Misfits.
Enjoy,
KC
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
LT356: Ab Aeterno - First Impressions
THE SUNDAY SERMON
I feel like I just sat through a Sunday service. To be fair, the story of LOST does not require a religion. It is the story of good versus evil. But then that concept always leads one back to gods - one good and one evil.
Let's break down this sermon a little bit...
THE GOOD GUYS: JACOB
Many feel that God speaks in riddles, half-explanations and makes impossible requests. On the surface, His instructions can seem almost contradictory. Say hello to Jacob. While Jacob may not be THE God, he is a manifestation of him.
Consider the motives behind Jacob's actions. He tells Richard that he brought him and others to the island in order to show the Man in Black that people will choose good. And yet, time and time (since the Adam and Eve skeletons in the cave?) each person fall short of the required faith.
Before we elevate Jacob to deity, let's remind ourselves that his power is limited. He can not return Isabella to Richard. He can not absolve Richard of his sins. But he can grant immortality. It looks like we will have to see a few more episodes in order to figure out all the rules of this game - much like every member of a congregation has to do!
One more observation: Jacob is rarely there when he is needed. Again, a common complaint of God's followers. Interesting.
THE PENDULUM KEEPS SWINGING
Every since Boone died and Aaron was born in the same instance we have witnessed a foreshadowing of the concept of a pendulum. The dictionary defines a pendulum as "a body suspended from a fixed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, commonly used to measure time".
On this island the force of influence is good and evil. Or one might argue it is one's own nature. Decisions...consequences.
As Ben turns back to good, Richard turns to evil. Tick-tock, tick-tock.
THE BAD GUY: MAN IN BLACK
I enjoyed the re-quotes such as "I see you are in chains." His words are clever, full of half-truths, and full of undisclosed conditions.
And we learn his role is to kill Jacob.
The wine analogy was very helpful. The evil is kept bottled up and the island is the lid. Now I can't quite rationalize how some of it seeps out in the form of black smoke, but the concept is understood. If the cork comes off we could be unleashing the forces of Hell upon the Earth. This is very similar to the concept of the Bible's devil being kept at bay in the bottomless pit.
There must be days when the Man in Black (and Satan) wake up and just wants to wipe humanity off the face of the planet. But there are rules like Job. It seems to me that Richard was protected by some force and this is why he did not die while below deck in the Black Rock.
OTHER NOTES
We are going to have a number of topics to discuss this week such as:
* The Black Rock crushing the statue
* The priest compromising his position for a few silver coins
* Magnus Hanso
* Rules we can construct such as to escape from hell one must kill the devil
* Hurley, dude
* Rules like Jacob must invite you inside - so was Ben invited?
* Who controls Jacob and the Man in Black
GRADE: BACKSLIDING
I give this episode a B+.
The show was nearly an entire flashback for Richard...and long overdue. I appreciated the story of love which required sacrifice, but how that commitment can blind one to rage and end in tragedy. It is a very thin line we walk along and that was depicted very well.
Ab Aeterno means "before time" and in religious circles it is used to described events "outside of time" such as Creation happening before time began (well, as we know it). These almost seem to suggest events prior to mankind...the events that lead right up to Adam and Eve.
It wouldn't surprise me if the two beings on the island agree to a challenge. A challenge where the two sides agree that the next person's decision - to serve good or to serve evil - will determine the fate of mankind. That would have to be Adam and Eve and we know how that turns out. So it seems Desmond was, after all, indeed, saving the world. He was putting off that final challenge. He was keeping mankind afloat for another cycle in order to finally find one person who would choose good and we could avoid the sinful nature we find ourselves plagued with today.
If the opening scene of Season 6 is any indicator (along with the history of mankind), then it appears hope does not float. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean along with the island. In this story, truth wins and the truth hurts. Because unlike the movies, the good guys do not win.
Very strong episode, but now I am ever so depressed.
Enjoy,
KC
I feel like I just sat through a Sunday service. To be fair, the story of LOST does not require a religion. It is the story of good versus evil. But then that concept always leads one back to gods - one good and one evil.
Let's break down this sermon a little bit...
THE GOOD GUYS: JACOB
Many feel that God speaks in riddles, half-explanations and makes impossible requests. On the surface, His instructions can seem almost contradictory. Say hello to Jacob. While Jacob may not be THE God, he is a manifestation of him.
Consider the motives behind Jacob's actions. He tells Richard that he brought him and others to the island in order to show the Man in Black that people will choose good. And yet, time and time (since the Adam and Eve skeletons in the cave?) each person fall short of the required faith.
Before we elevate Jacob to deity, let's remind ourselves that his power is limited. He can not return Isabella to Richard. He can not absolve Richard of his sins. But he can grant immortality. It looks like we will have to see a few more episodes in order to figure out all the rules of this game - much like every member of a congregation has to do!
One more observation: Jacob is rarely there when he is needed. Again, a common complaint of God's followers. Interesting.
THE PENDULUM KEEPS SWINGING
Every since Boone died and Aaron was born in the same instance we have witnessed a foreshadowing of the concept of a pendulum. The dictionary defines a pendulum as "a body suspended from a fixed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, commonly used to measure time".
On this island the force of influence is good and evil. Or one might argue it is one's own nature. Decisions...consequences.
As Ben turns back to good, Richard turns to evil. Tick-tock, tick-tock.
THE BAD GUY: MAN IN BLACK
I enjoyed the re-quotes such as "I see you are in chains." His words are clever, full of half-truths, and full of undisclosed conditions.
And we learn his role is to kill Jacob.
The wine analogy was very helpful. The evil is kept bottled up and the island is the lid. Now I can't quite rationalize how some of it seeps out in the form of black smoke, but the concept is understood. If the cork comes off we could be unleashing the forces of Hell upon the Earth. This is very similar to the concept of the Bible's devil being kept at bay in the bottomless pit.
There must be days when the Man in Black (and Satan) wake up and just wants to wipe humanity off the face of the planet. But there are rules like Job. It seems to me that Richard was protected by some force and this is why he did not die while below deck in the Black Rock.
OTHER NOTES
We are going to have a number of topics to discuss this week such as:
* The Black Rock crushing the statue
* The priest compromising his position for a few silver coins
* Magnus Hanso
* Rules we can construct such as to escape from hell one must kill the devil
* Hurley, dude
* Rules like Jacob must invite you inside - so was Ben invited?
* Who controls Jacob and the Man in Black
GRADE: BACKSLIDING
I give this episode a B+.
The show was nearly an entire flashback for Richard...and long overdue. I appreciated the story of love which required sacrifice, but how that commitment can blind one to rage and end in tragedy. It is a very thin line we walk along and that was depicted very well.
Ab Aeterno means "before time" and in religious circles it is used to described events "outside of time" such as Creation happening before time began (well, as we know it). These almost seem to suggest events prior to mankind...the events that lead right up to Adam and Eve.
It wouldn't surprise me if the two beings on the island agree to a challenge. A challenge where the two sides agree that the next person's decision - to serve good or to serve evil - will determine the fate of mankind. That would have to be Adam and Eve and we know how that turns out. So it seems Desmond was, after all, indeed, saving the world. He was putting off that final challenge. He was keeping mankind afloat for another cycle in order to finally find one person who would choose good and we could avoid the sinful nature we find ourselves plagued with today.
If the opening scene of Season 6 is any indicator (along with the history of mankind), then it appears hope does not float. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean along with the island. In this story, truth wins and the truth hurts. Because unlike the movies, the good guys do not win.
Very strong episode, but now I am ever so depressed.
Enjoy,
KC
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